Saturday Swim Session: TTs

Time Trials are a great way to gauge your performance and give the body and mind a training stimulus that replicates an event.

Each week I will load three options up for you to do. Option A is for swimmers who are after a workout less than 2,000 metres. Option B is for swimmers who are after a workout between 2,000 and 3,000m and Option C will be greater than 3,000m.

Option A

200m Warm Up;

4x 50m Drill/Swim;

1,000m Time Trial;

200m Cool Down (1,600m)

Option B

300m Warm Up;

8x 50m Drill/Swim;

1,500m Time Trial;

200m Cool Down (2,600m)

Option C

800m Warm Up;

8x 50m Drill/Swim;

8x 25m Pick Ups, 10sec RI;

1,500m Time Trial;

200m Cool Down (3,100m)

Start the workout with a Warm Up covering 200m (Option A), 300m (Option B) or 800m (Option C). During the warm up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.

Next up is a set of four reps (Option A) or eight reps (Option B and C) 50m Drill/Swim, where you do a drill for the first 25m of the repetition and then normal swimming for the next 25m swimming. Feel free to use fins whilst doing the drill/swim set. Do the drills below once through for Option A or twice through for Options B and C:

The next set is only in the Option C workout. Skip this one if you are doing Option A or B. It is a set of eight reps of 25m Pick Up with 10 seconds Rest Interval (RI). A Pick Up is where you increase the pace or speed you are swimming at over the length. Start off with a few strokes at a steady or moderate pace, then pick the pace up for a few strokes that are fast, a few more strokes that are faster, pick the pace up to your fastest pace and then finish the length sprinting the last few strokes. So over the course of the length or repetition you “Pick the pace Up”.

The next set is the Time Trial (TT). Option A is 1,000m and Options B and C are 1,500m. Swim these as fast as you can maintaining a consistent pace for the duration. Don’t sprint at the start and fade at the end. Keep it nice and steady.

All three workouts have a 200m cool down. Feel free to pause and stretch when needed and /or include stretching as part of each break until the distance is covered.

If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.

I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi Coaching.

I specialise in assisting first timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.

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If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published 6 months ago.

Ray has competed in triathlons from sprint to ironman distance (both IM Taupo and Challenge Wanaka). Consequently he is aware of the importance of balancing training with lifestyle, thus complimenting other important aspects of an athlete’s life (family, work, study commitments etc…).
• Entering your first triathlon?
• Stepping up to a longer distance?
• Looking to go faster?
• Wanting to turn previous negatives into positives?
Ray has coached athletes to achieve these and more. Training programmes are accessible online, so athletes can be located anywhere and still reap the benefits of Ray’s coaching. Contact him to discuss how he can assist you to achieve your goals.

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Training Plan of the Month – May 2019

As you follow the programme you will find yourself swimming your 1,500m faster. Now whether that is a PB or not will depend on how fast you have swum in the past, but it will definitely be faster at the end of the 4 weeks than it is now. With this programme people improve on average nearly 2 minutes, with some people improving by over 10%.

Designed for triathletes who have limited time to train but can squeeze two short 2km sessions in each week. The primary goal of this training plan is to prepare you to swim 1,500m faster than you did at the start of the programme.